I am coming to Qatar next month to teach at an elementary school, and I was wondering if there are any women already working over in Qatar who can give me some advice on the "modest attire" needed for teaching. I have been shopping around a bit here in Canada, but haven't found too much yet. I'm wondering if it's best to just bring a few key pieces and then shop up a storm once I arrive. Is this the best approach? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

seeing that you will start teaching shortly after the onset of ramadan, you should definitely dress even more conservatively. what that means is:
- long sleeves
- long skirts (at least below the knee)
- pants that come down to mid-calf
- no cleavage
- no see-through material
- little or no jewelry
- little or no make-up
the rest of the year, you can dress pretty much the same way, minus the long sleeves and be okay. you can also of course wear jewelry and make-up all you want. as a general rule, it is not a good idea to show knees (even for men) and anything above the elbow.

about bringing stuff vs. shopping in qatar, well that's your call. there are loads of shops where you can find appropriate styles for work. if you decide to bring stuff, bring anything that fits the description in the list above.

outside of work, you are allowed a little more freedom. however, it's still not advisable to wear styles that reveal too much skin: spaghetti straps mini-anything, etc.

Respect the local culture. There has been a brouhaha the past few months over women's dress. This started a few months back when a dumbfool QU teacher posted some photos of his partying and guzzling colleagues in skimpy dress and salacious poses on Facebook. This dumb deed was bad enough but then the dimwit allowed his university students access, this resulted in irate students downloading the offensive pictures and sending them to friends, newspapers, schools and mosques not only in Qatar but the Gulf. This stupidity was reported in a couple of Arabic local papers and angrily discussed in a morning radio call-in program. Many local people were shocked when they saw the pictures.Then the mosques started sermonizing while parents and students made enraged complaints to the government and Min of Religious Affairs about the way foreign women dressed and behaved in public. The result has been a clampdown on skimpy dress especially in malls and other public places.

The mall-mutawa squad (veiled female security) have been approaching women and girls who dress in "an unseemly manner" (translated by a friend) to leave the mall's premises. This means shorts, sleeveless clothes, tank tops ( this also applies to men!!!) The mall dress code squad has targeted women at Villagio and City Center. One of my gal pals had a friend who was asked to leave Villagio. She was really embarassed about this, especially since she was dressed appropriately. There are some rumours of a 600 riyal fine for offenders but this can't be verified.

Bottom Line: dress appropriately - this means ya don't wear clothes that Muslims may find offensive. Respect the locals and they will respect you, dress like a streetwalker, then face the consequences.

Another effect of all this has been the recording of ID numbers of people who drink in the hotels and clubs.

DOHA: The Filipino community expresses more concern for Filipino women to dress up appropriately in public places especially that the Ramadan season draws near.

Community leaders have warned Filipino women anew to be aware on what they wear that would not be unpleasant to the public eye since there is an increased police activity in relation to public decency with Ramadan festival coming up.

“The police now are more vigilant during the Ramadan, so please dress up in appropriate manner when you are out in the public,” said an advisory circulated through the yahoo groups e-mail of Filipino Community Organisations Alliance (FILCOA).

The same group also tells Filipinos that they would issue shortly another advisory aimed at newcomers in Qatar on “acceptable behaviour” during the Ramadan.

Cristina Mariٌas, spokesperson of FILCOA, agreed that a lot of her countrymen were caught red-handedly by authorities wearing unacceptable dresses during the Ramadan season in the past but it’s only that this was not thoroughly reported by the media.

In the wake of the dress code uproar in the community, a well-known Filipino couturier in Qatar has a piece of advice to Filipino women: It’s even more attractive and appealing if they wear colourful long blouses and skirts mixed with accessories during summer time.

Jojo Lina, fashion consultant at Lady Chic Boutique in Al Sadd, said it is even more fashionable to wear this kind of get up. “We can still be modern and trendy with these kinds of clothes, aside from it is economical and goes with the Arabic culture.”

Lina recommended light-coloured blouses and skirts made of soft cotton and linen and mixed with accessories like shawl and other soft wrap around cloths to make them look cool to wear against the summer heat.

He said the same dress style need not be costly since women could apply a mix-match or a mix of old and new blouse and skirts depending on what would suit up to make it attractive. “For thin soft skirts, these should be paired with longer loose blouses maybe up to above the knee to avoid revelation of the body shape.”

He also advised women to just wear shirts and jeans which are not too tight to reveal their bodies.

Be sensitive to the spirit of Ramadan
Web posted at: 8/20/2009 1:44:3
Source ::: The Peninsula/ BY MOHAMED SAEED & EMME SUELTO
DOHA: With Ramadan set to begin tomorrow or the day after, there is concern among residents here — especially those who have arrived in the country recently — about how they should dress and conduct themselves in public.

A rule of thumb is to be conservative in the choice of dress and be mindful of not hurting the feelings of people who are fasting.

A lawyer The Peninsula spoke to yesterday said dressing indecently in public or using abusive language was a crime punishable under Qatari law. The law is applicable at all times, but during Ramadan sensitivities on these issues increase.

The general opinion on the matter of dressing in public has been brought out by an online survey conducted by this newspaper. The majority of respondents in the survey, when asked if they thought many people dressed indecently in the country, replied in the affirmative, obliquely implying that some measures needed to be taken to curb this trend.

At least 60 of the 119 men and women who took part in the survey said they agreed the problem did exist here. Only 35 of the respondents said they did not agree that many people dressed indecently in Qatar, while 11 said they did not care. Four respondents said they did not know, while seven said they did not want

to answer.

The survey was conducted between June 7 and August 19 and people are still responding to it.

Embassies of countries like the US and the Philippines have issued advisories to their citizens here to follow a proper dress code to avoid offending others or inviting legal action.

“Don’t go to public beaches in bath towels,” the US mission said in its advisory, also cautioning against wearing sleeveless blouses, halter tops and shorts.

“Western bathing attire must be worn only at hotel pools and private beaches,” the advisory said.

A lawyer here has also warned people against eating and drinking in public or dressing indecently.

Adults found eating or drinking in public between dawn and dusk (the fasting time) during the holy month can be taken to task, said Mohsin Thiyab Al Suwaidi. The act attracts up to three months of imprisonment or a fine of up to QR3,000 or both under Article 267 of Qatar’s criminal code.

Dressing indecently is a crime punishable under Article 290 and action can be taken against the violators regardless of whether it is Ramadan or not, the lawyer said.

This means shorts, sleeveless clothes, tank tops ( this also applies to men!!!)

Many people don't seem to realize that the rule of modest dress in this part of the world is for both sexes. It was stressed to me many times by my male students that heads are to be covered as are arms to the wrists, although unlike women they wear one layer of white cotton... while the women have layers of synthetic fibers. It depends on the country how stringently the rules for men are followed by the locals. In Oman, they mostly are... in Kuwait, they mostly are not. Can't say for Qatar...

Well wilbur... we had been wondering how you were doing. Last day eh? Good luck!

15yearsinQ8,
Humourously put...but very practical advice in a language even the dullest of foreigners can understand. For the males it may take a few additional whacks across the thighs with the 'walking stick' by an elderly gentleman before the message is undertood. What an steadfastly ethnocentric/culturecentric lot we are in a foreign environment.